


Chemistry in Motion

by NullanyThorm



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, I'll update tags as I go, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2020-10-17 15:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20623127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NullanyThorm/pseuds/NullanyThorm
Summary: Honey Lemon's life takes on a new challenge when she's introduced to Varian - a boy genius orphan from Germany who'd just been adopted into her family. It's time for her to be a big sister now. Luckily for her, she and Varian have quite a lot in common. As they find common ground, how will these new siblings  handle the ups and downs life in San Fransokyo throws at them?





	1. First Meeting

“So… What’s happening again?”

Honey looked between the three figures in front of her. The older woman who Honey had certainly gotten many of her genetics from, older man whose arm was around the woman’s waist, and the small boy standing between them. 

“We’ve adopted him!” The woman, Honey’s mother, announced chipperly. “He’s going to be your little brother, now!”

Honey gave a nervous giggle. It wasn’t that she was against having a little brother, in fact she was excited at the idea! It was just… rather sudden, and a bit late in the game to be adopting him. From the looks of him, though young he was a teenage boy. And considering Honey Lemon herself was a college student… she wasn’t quite sure if this was just because her parents still weren’t used to having her out of the house (He was still adorable, though, with those big blue puppy dog eyes and the slightly elongated front teeth that Honey was only able to spot as he nervously bit his lip).

“His case came up on your mother’s desk and she couldn’t resist,” her father continued. “It’s a rather special case, so I agreed that we should take him in.”

“You two will get along famously, I know it!” Her mother chimed happily, nudging the small boy forward. “Go ahead and introduce yourself, dear.”

“I’m — er — Varian,” the boy stuttered. It was obvious by his downcast eyes and the way he was wringing his hands around each other that he was nervous ,or perhaps just still adjusting to the idea of being part of a new family. “It’s… um… Nice to meet you?”

Honey Lemon decided to try to break the ice, taking his hands gently and bouncing. She couldn’t deny she was a bit giddy to have a younger sibling, though the idea of being an older sister was foreign to her. 

“I’m Honey Lemon!” At the confused glance from Varian, she giggled at her overly enthusiastic introduction. “It’s, um, a nickname my friends at SFIT gave me. It’s just kind of stuck with everyone now, so feel free to call me any form of that you want.”

“She’s a chemistry major at the school,” her father informed her new little brother, “So we knew right away you’d get along with her.”

Sure enough, the moment he mentioned her studying chemistry, Varian’s eyes lit up. There was this amazing sparkle to them, almost like two bright pieces of turquoise. It was the first time she’d seen the boy smile in the entire awkward exchange, so there’s that. His buck teeth were more prominent now, and gosh were they precious. 

“You study Chemistry!?” He asked, “That’s amazing! I — I  _ love _ Chemistry. And Engineering. And Robotics. A lot of things, really… but Chemistry’s my favorite! ” Now that he was talking more, Honey was able to notice a slight accent in his speech, but it was so slight and his English was so perfect she couldn’t quite make out what it was. 

“Varian is a brilliant boy,” mother continued, “he graduated from a German prep school with top marks recently.” Oh, so it was german — and wait  _ graduated? _

“As… in High School?” She asked. 

“Yeah,” Varian responded, suddenly sheepish. Well for good reason. “I guess that’s… kinda  _ weird. _ ”

“It’s amazing!” Honey Lemon responded, excited. “Ooh, you should come to SFIT! A boy like you would be more than welcome! And we could both be chemistry majors, it would be amazing!”

“I’m… Not really looking to go to college right now...”

Her two parents shared concerned looks. She could tell why they’d decided to introduce them so abruptly — Varian was a boy genius. Science minded. They probably thought he’d connect with his new sister and agree to go to school with her. 

“His… He was made an orphan recently,” her mother admitted, “A terrible accident. ”

“Let’s… not talk about that,” Honey quickly decided, seeing the cloudy look in the small boy’s eyes. Talking about whatever had orphaned him would have to wait for another day. What mattered now was convincing him to come out of his shell. 

She knelt down next to Varian, reassuringly setting her hands on his shoulders and giving him a smile. He smiled back, but it was meek, downcast. It was obvious there was a lot he was dealing with on his own, but she wanted more than anything to convey to him that once he had his feelings sorted out, he could come to her. 

“Ooh, I have a fun idea!” She said with a grin. “You don’t have to enroll if you don’t want to, but why not come take a look around SFIT with me tomorrow? I can introduce you to my friends, show you our lab. Ooh, you can see the chemistry project I’m working on!”

“Oh, um, that sounds great!” Varian agreed. She could tell he was still a bit hesitant, but at least he was going along with it. Perhaps it would get his mind off things. “I’d really like to see your project. I mean… You know, chemistry nut and whatnot.”

“It’s a deal baby brother!”

She playfully ruffled his hair, and it seemed like they were sharing a proper bonding moment, now. He was laughing, which made her laugh along. She wrapped him up in a big hug, and she thought that maybe, even if he’d just been adopted, they could still consider each other family.

“We’ve moved back into the city,” her father continued. “You could probably leave the dorms at SFIT and come stay with us again, since our new house isn’t far from campus. It will allow you two to spend more time together as siblings.”

“I’m in!” She instantly, excitedly, agreed, “I’ll start packing as soon as I get back, it’ll be great!”

“There’s… er… one more thing,” Varian added, “I figure I should let you know now since we’re kind of a package deal….”

“Oh, right,” Varian’s mother continued, “Varian has a pet. It won’t be a deal-breaker for Honey, dear, she loves animals.”

“Other than hippos,” she muttered under her breath. Getting a look from her family now, she grinned brightly. “What kind of pet? A cat? He seems like a cat person.”

“A raccoon,” Varian responded, nervously chuckling as his voice cracked a bit. He pulled out a phone, digging through it before holding it up for Honey to see the picture of his raccoon. “His name is Ruddiger. He’s… er… sleeping in my room right now, but— ”

“Oh, he’s precious!” she couldn’t help but coo at the picture, accidentally interrupting Varian. “I’m so happy! We’ve never actually had pets before, which I always thought was kind of weird because I  _ love _ animals so much! But it’s exciting to have one in the house and he’s so cute! Kind of an oddball choice but I honestly think that’s  _ perfect _ for this family and — oh, I’m rambling, sorry.”

“It’s… Okay,” Varian responded. She could tell he was adjusting to how talkative she was, but he didn’t necessarily seem like a naturally quiet boy, himself. If the way he rattled on when he found out about her school major was anything to go by. Either he was just nervous, or his talkative side only came out with things he was interested in. “Anyway, I’m sure Ruddiger will be happy to meet you next time.”

“You bet, I can’t wait!” She cheered, giving her new brother a tight hug. “And after I meet him, we’ll head down to SFIT. Oh, I can’t wait to see what Tadashi and the others say when they meet you! Ooh! I should talk to Tadashi about introducing you to his kid brother! I mean, I haven’t met him yet either but according to Tadashi he’s a kid genius too and — ”

“Maybe talk about that one next time?” Varian responded. “Things are getting a  _ bit _ overwhelming.”

“Oh, uh, right.” Honey giggled out. “I’d better get back before curfew, but I’m super excited for tomorrow, Varian! I’m going to start packing right away!”

She finally released the black-haired boy, smiling brightly and waving to her parents. “See you tomorrow!” It seemed like she was in for a fun year next year, if she could convince Varian to sign up for classes. Her new baby brother! She was so excited!

It felt like nothing could break her spirits as she turned from what would be her new house back to campus. Oh, she couldn’t wait to tell this story!


	2. Nightmares & Text Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian is having a hard night, when he gets a text message from his new sister.

_ "Do you... have to go?" His voice came out between hoarse rasps and coughs. "Can't it wait until we can both go?" _

_ "Unfortunately not," his father responded flatly. "Edmund has some important business that needs taking care of." His father's hand was on his head, soothing him. It was big, and comforting, and felt cool on the boy's feverish forehead. "The sooner I can get it done, the better. So we can go see that school you wanted to sign up for, together." _

_ "Mm, in that case I guess I can take care of myself." It was worth it, he'd decided, if it meant more time with his dad after the work is done. "Be safe, okay?" _

_ "Of course," his dad responded. "I've made a bunch of soup you can toss in the microwave, and a few sandwiches for when you get bored of that." _

_ "Ham?" _

_ "Of course," his dad let out a dry chuckle. "I'm more worried about you than myself. No experiments. Stay out of your lab and focus on getting better, alright?" _

_ "Geez, dad, I know I'm devoted but I'm not an idiot." He joked dryly. They shared a small moment of easy going laughter before his dad rose. _

_ "I'd better get going." _

_ "Say hi to uncle Edmund and Eugene for me?" _

_ "Of course, Varian." _

_ And so his dad left to catch a plane back to Germany. Varian gave his father a smile as he left, expecting to see his father again some time soon. _

_ He wouldn't get his wish. _

_ A crash, fire, metal and wires crashing down around him as the plane fell into the ocean. Flailing as he sank into the water under the plane's weight, with only one thing on his mind. _

_ "Varian! Varian!" _

  * ~•~•~•~•

He shot up straight in his new bed. It was dark, and his eyes darted around quickly for a sign of anything familiar. He heard the chittering of a raccoon, and before he knew it Ruddiger was in his lap. 

He grabbed for the warm, soft furball right away and allowed himself to break down in sobs. He couldn't control them, so he simply muffled them into Ruddiger's fur to prevent alerting his new adoptive parents. 

"I should have been there," he cried to no one in particular, but Ruddiger was a good listener. "I should have been on that plane with him! If I hadn't gotten sick —!"

_ You'd be dead, _ the logical part of his mind told him.

_ We'd have at least been together, _the emotional part echoed back.

But, instead, he was stuck in America. Just him and his raccoon. They'd considered sending him to stay with a family member, but when talk of him attending SFIT came up, it was decided (against his own will) he should stay in America. He was, technically, half American and had dual citizenship so it wasn't a problem. 

But, rather than let him stay on his own and live in the dorms, or find a job, they'd elected to put him up for adoption instead. "He's still a child," they'd said. "Far too young to have a proper grasp on how to care for himself. And all his living relatives are overseas."

He hated adults. The way they thought they could decide anything for him when he was obviously smart enough to make it on his own. Heck, he was probably smarter than most of said adults. It was infuriating. 

Amidst all the rage, tears, and frustration, he heard a distinct yelling sound and panicked. 

"I'm sorry, buddy!" He quickly apologized, releasing his grip on Ruddiger. "Didn't mean to hold onto you so tight! I just…"

He felt tears welling up again. He tried to push them down, but they inevitably bubbled to the surface. He didn't like it. Being stuck with strangers in a strange house. It wasn't home. Then, he felt Ruddiger affectionately licking at his cheek, and he couldn't help but laugh despite all his sorrow. 

"Are you trying to console me?" He asked, knowing the raccoon wouldn't be able to answer. Still, he reached out and pet his companion, happy to have at least one familiar face with him. 

A buzzing sound caused him to jump, and he saw his phone flashing on his bedside table. Who was texting him at this hour?

> _ Hey there! It's Honey Lemon! _

Oh. His new _ big sister. _He honestly wasn't used to the idea of being a sibling, now. He a cousin, and that was about it. It was an odd feeling. 

Honey Lemon, as she called herself, proceeded to send him a bunch of short texts one after the other. Why couldn't she just link them into one? He certainly didn't know.

> _I know it's late, but I got your number from mom and dad! :)_  
_ Be sure to add me to your contacts!   
I can't wait for tomorrow!   
It'll be like a moving party! ;)_

Honestly, while he still wasn't sure what to think of his new sister, he at least liked her better than the other adults. A bit of an oddball, sure, but who was he to judge in that department? Besides, she was a chemistry major at SFIT, which meant she wasn't only a science lover, but was actually really smart, too. He decided, just for fun, he'd counter her barrage of texts with some of his own.

> _ Consider it done  
_ _ 'Party'? You do plan on getting some actual moving done, right?  
_ _ Also are you actually excited about the moving, or just a chance to meet Ruddiger? _

And so, the two AM texting conversation started. It didn't take long for Honey Lemon to text him back, since he'd basically agreed to the conversation at this point. 

> _Of course I'm planning on getting the moving done!_  
_ I'll even send you proof! _  
_ <Picture>  
See!? Totally already packing! :)  
Still totally excited to see Ruddiger though._

He stared at the picture, a selfie, for a moment. His coppery-haired sister (and it's funny that he compares her hair to copper, with them being chemists. Periodic table and such) was in what he assumed to be her dorm room. There was a bed behind her that had a visible lump, probably her roommate, and a bunch of cardboard boxes already packed away and neatly duct taped, with a hefty amount of stickers on each box. Why the stickers? Varian didn't really care to know. 

She was smiling at the camera, holding up a victory peace sign. Honestly, that smile was infectious, even through a picture. Varian found himself smiling soon after. 

"C'mere, Ruddiger," he called as he quickly pulled the raccoon into a hug. He wasn't really the type for selfies, but he supposed he might as well return the one Honey Lemon had given him in kind. So, he snapped a picture of himself, still in his pajamas, with his loyal pet. 

> _Alright, I believe you_   
_ We should both get some sleep_   
_ Big day tomorrow  
I think Ruddiger's excited, too  
<Picture>_

He smiled at the spam of "how CUUUTE" and over the top number of heart emotes that followed. Eventually, though, they both traded good nights and decided to head to sleep. 

At least,Varian tried. He'd hardly put his phone back down before it buzzed again. He muttered under his breath before picking up his phone. Reading it was his cousin, though, he let it go. It was like noon in Germany at this point, since he'd spent a good hour trading nonsense texts with his new sister. 

> _Hey, kiddo. _   
_ I'm out for lunch with Rapunzel right now. _   
_ Probably late where you are, so don't worry about responding right away. _   
_ How're…. Things?  
Heard from dad you got adopted  
Think you can get along with the new family?_

He wasn't sure how to respond, at first. He didn't really have anything against his cousin, or uncle. He just wished they'd listened to him when he asked to let him apply for a German University instead, so he could go home. 

Still, he knew they did it because he'd so badly wanted to attend SFIT before the crash. Probably wanted to keep his life on course, even if it stung a little. 

Then, his eyes wandered to his last sent text from Honey Lemon. It was a simple 'good night, little brother! <3'. He smiled, took in a deep breath, and wrote his response to Eugene before going to bed. He didn't wait to see how his cousin responded. 

> _Things are… fine_   
_ I'm still mad. And homesick_   
_ And I'm not sure what to think of my new "parents"  
But… I have a sister, now  
And… I think we'll get along just fine_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's officially become a drabble collection! Thanks for the positive feedback on the first drabble in the series. Sorry to hit you with a bit of a downer for the second one. Never, fear, though! I promise this collection will be MOSTLY fluff. Doesn't mean there won't be some sad moments though. Thanks again and I hope this didn't cause too much pain~ I tried to make the second half lighthearted to make up for it.


	3. R&R: Ruddiger & Relaxation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honey Lemon gets her family's help moving in. She and her little brother bond over her meeting his pet, Ruddiger.

Honey Lemon had a hard time focusing on her classes that day. Of course, she was able to manage her way through! She wasn’t a total space cadet, that would be bad. Still, thinking about the exciting day ahead had her just so excited! She’d already planned it out in her head. 

Her parents would come in their car, with Varian, and help her move a bunch of things out. They’d take them home, she’d finally get to meet her new brother’s cuddly little friend. They’d unpack the things they were able to get on the first trip, maybe eat dinner together. Then, afterward, she’d give her baby brother a grand tour of SFIT, ending with the lab she and her friends often used and introduce them, maybe show him her school project. 

It was just going to be so  _ great! _

She’d already gushed about him to all of them. Tadashi was excited to learn more about him, said something about helping get his own little brother out of his slump of mental inactivity and convince him to come to SFIT as well. Freddy had already given him the affectionate nickname “Pinstripe” due to that weird (but unique and adorable) little blue stripe in his hair. Wasabi was wondering if keeping a raccoon as a pet was sanitary, and Gogo was…. Well, Gogo. None too impressed, but understanding of Honey Lemon’s excitement. They were all already pretty pumped to meet him, so tonight was just going to be perfect! 

Or, so she thought, but her plan was already busted right out of the gate. 

“He won’t get out of the car?” She asked, glancing between her parents to the small, white vehicle where her little brother was perched in the back seat, almost like he’d been curled up in a little ball. 

“I guess he’s a bit nervous,” her mom told her. “He said he’d rather wait for us to load everything in and drive home together. It’s a pretty big school, after all. And there are a lot of people. He’s a bit…. Socially awkward, you know?”

“Oh, um… Okay! I understand.” She gave her parents a bright smile, and they worked together to load as many of the boxes she’d managed to pack so far into the car. Once that was done, she slipped into the back seat with Varian. 

The small boy didn’t respond to her at first. He simply kept his arms around his knees, chin nestling into them as he looked down at the floorboard of the car. Honey felt he looked like a little raccoon himself. Tiny and anxious and not used to people. In a new environment, all curled up in a little ball and still cautious of its new home. She tentatively reached out to pet his head, he allowed the affectionate gesture, and her eyes caught his bright blue ones for a brief second before he broke eye contact again. 

Yep. A little raccoon. 

They rode the rest of the way in silence, and as they returned to the safety of home and began unloading a few more boxes, Honey noticed some semblance of life come back to him. He happily offered to help carry a few boxes (only to nearly drop a heavier one and have dad wind up saving the day), and talked with Honey excitedly about a book he’d read and its theories in advanced chemistry and the effect of chemical reactions on the environment. It was a sudden shift, but Honey was grateful to have her bouncy little brother back, at least. 

As they walked through the front door, a little blur of gray passed by Honey’s eyes and scurried up her brother’s shoulder, curling across them. 

“Oh, and this must be Ruddiger.” She couldn’t hide the giddy excitement in her voice. Seeing him move straight from where he’d been to clamber up Varian’s shoulder had been amazing! He obviously loved Varian a lot. “How cute!”

“Don’t… Don’t drop the box to pet him please,” Varian snapped her out of her cute-citement. “There’s some fragile stuff in there, right?”

“Oh, right right! Thank you!” She corrected herself, grabbing the bottom of the box she’d almost dropped out of pure desire to hold the raccoon perched on her little brother’s shoulders. Instead, she carried it all upstairs, placing it neatly on the floor alongside the box Varian was carrying in her still somewhat barren room. 

Then she dashed to hold the raccoon. 

She picked the little critter up off of Varian’s shoulders. When he didn’t resist being held, she hugged him, and began petting and scratching him. He seemed to enjoy human company, and happily allowed the pets and scratches and hugs. Or at least, he put up with them. She wasn’t sure which it was but he seemed friendly so she liked to assume the first. 

“You sure love meeting people, Ruddiger.” Varian joined Honey Lemon in giving his pet attention. He sat down on the floor, and Ruddiger instantly moved to curl up in his lap. The two seemed really close, and Honey could tell her little brother didn’t seem to like having his pet away from him for too long. It didn’t seem to be in an overly dependant way, but still — 

“You two seem really attached to each other.”

“Uh, yeah...” Varian shrunk under her innocent statement. He reached up to scratch underneath his raccoon’s chin. “We’ve always been close, but… I guess it’s because he’s the closest thing to family I have out here —- ohmygod I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that…!” He stumbled over his words, causing Honey to smile and affectionately stroke at his hair. 

“Hey, it’s okay, I get it,” she responded, “You’re still getting used to life here. You don’t have to see us as family just yet.” She attempted to soothe his panic, and it seemed to work. He gave her a sheepish smile. 

“Thanks,” he paused for a moment, as if trying to figure out what to call her. He seemed to be thinking anyway, but eventually settled on just “Honey Lemon.” It made her heart sink a little, but she wanted him to adjust at his own pace. 

She sat next to him, and the two got over the awkwardness of the conversation by showering Ruddiger with attention. They’d scratch under his chin, rub his stomach. Varian talked about how Ruddiger would sometimes act as his little lab assistant. How smart he was in getting certain things he was able to recognize when Varian needed. Them. Honey Lemon couldn’t help but suppress small fits of giggles over how cute it must be to watch the raccoon grabbing tools and vials for Varian as he worked. 

“Honey, Varian, aren’t you supposed to be getting things out of the car?”

“Oh, right!” Honey leapt up, allowing Ruddiger to climb back onto Varian’s shoulder as the two moved downstairs. “Sorry mom!”

“S-Sorry….” Honey noticed that not only did Varian have a hard time calling their parents “mom and dad”, he seemed to have a hard time calling them by anything in particular. If he really needed to, he’d call them ma’am or sir, but otherwise most of his conversation with them was indirect and he didn’t really call them if able to get away with it. 

“It’s alright, just hurry it on up. Your dad’s bringing up a few things, so make sure to wait by the stairs so you don’t run into each other. I’m going to start work on dinner!”

“You got it!”

They moved back and forth, bringing boxes to and from. After a few trips, they had a small pile formed in a corner of the room, and were rather satisfied with their work for the night as they went down to dinner. Her parents asked about school, and Honey Lemon instantly went into a conversation about some of her latest projects that obviously went over their heads (but Varian eagerly joined in). When she saw that, she began talking about her friends instead, and some of the funny things that happened when they hung out together in the lab (Varian seemed to shrink away from this line of conversation, though). 

“It must be so exciting,” their father added to the conversation, obviously trying to urge Varian back into the conversation. “Thinking that you’ll be attending SFIT soon yourself, Varian.”

“Oh, um…. Ur, yeah.” The small boy shakily agreed. He began meekly poking at his food, and it was obvious that line of questioning was going to take a little more subtlety.

“Well, I’m planning on going back tonight to do some work in the lab,” Honey inserted a bit gentler, “You wanna come watch? Two heads are better than one.”

“Ah, well!” Varian shakily chuckled. “I don’t know about helping with your school work, and… I was actually thinking… maybe going to the lab could wait until you’re moved in? You know, make sure we get the move done quickly?”

Right, there was no pushing this. She gave a small smile and nodded. She saw Varian let out the breath he was obviously holding in before going back to his food. She gave a small smile and got back to eating, herself. 

“I brought a few movies with me,” things weren’t quite going as planned tonight, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun. “What do we say we bust open a few boxes, find them, and have a marathon?”

“Oh, uh… what about your lab work?”

“That? It’s fine!” She said, waving the comment off, “I’ve got basically the whole year to work on it, and it’s mostly just at the stage of being a pet project right now. I want to spend a little brother-sister quality time!”

“Well, alright, then...” She saw a little pink cross his cheeks, backdropping his freckles. “Movie marathon it is, I guess.”

“Yes!” Honey cheered, bouncing. “I’m done with my dinner, I’m going to get everything set up! Bring your blanket and Ruddiger!”

She heard a small chuckle from Varian and knew her attempt to cheer him up had worked somewhat. She darted upwards towards her room, feeling like she’d at least managed to salvage the night a little bit.


	4. Little Brother's First Sticker Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Honey Lemon finishes moving into the family home, she decides to celebrate in her favorite way. Varian gets wrapped up in the experience.

“We did it! It’s finally done!”

Varian watched as his older sister jumping around her newly furnished room. They’d painted the walls pink, set up all the furniture and gotten everything straightened out. The pair had just finished getting everything tidied, put on shelves or in their place. It had been about a week or more worth of work, and Varian had managed to avoid being taken to SFIT the entire time. It was nice to have an excuse to fall back on. 

But now he didn’t. 

“Calm down, Honey Lemon,” he gave a shaky chuckle as he watched her bounce around. “We don’t need you crashing into something and undoing all our work.” Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Let him procrastinate a little more. 

“Oh, you’re right,” she responded. She stopped hopping around after that, instead choosing to pull Varian into a hug and plop onto her bed. 

“Ack, hey!” He laughed, playfully trying to push his way out of her hug. "Come on! Let's go down to dinner, okay?"

"I've fallen and I can't get up!"

"Honey Lemon!"

The two laughed and screeched, initiating a tickle war as Varian tried to free himself of his sister's affection. The two tumbled around on her bed for a while before both sides relented their assault, still laughing and gasping for breath.

"Alright, dinner," Honey Lemon finally agreed, standing up and helping Varian up. "I'm so excited!"

"Ah, yeah…" Varian knew what she was excited for. More than likely, after dinner, she'd try to get him to go with her to her lab again. He'd been putting it off, and putting it off, and putting it off. He had no excuse, now. 

He walked behind Honey, downstairs. Ruddiger plodded behind him, expecting to be fed. As soon as they reached the kitchen, he set out the small bowl for Ruddiger's food and gave him some before sitting down with the rest of his adoptive family. 

Honey Lemon talked animatedly with her mom and dad. They talked about the process of moving, how glad they were it was over. . They talked about plans for family outings to celebrate Honey moving in, but Varian didn’t really interject in most of them. It was just a nod, or a ‘that sounds fun’ or a ‘sure’ every now and then. 

It still didn’t feel right. 

It didn’t feel like his family. 

It didn’t feel like home. 

He liked his new parents. They were nice. Social workers and the like always were. But he still wasn’t sure he wanted to call them ‘mom and dad’, especially not ‘dad’. He adored Honey Lemon. They got on really well. They talked chemistry, and she loved Ruddiger, and they texted each other constantly. Sent pictures. Watched movies together. Yet, he still hadn’t gotten up the courage to call her ‘big sister’ yet.  
  
It was like he was stuck in a little glass box. He’d be there with them, but not really hear much of what they were saying. He’d be among them, but wouldn’t really feel part of them. Isolated. The glass was brittle. It wouldn’t take much to break it. Yet, every time he tried, he found himself holding back. So he stayed in the little box, looking outside of it at the happy friendly chatting and laughing and desperately wanting to be a part of it. Yet, unable to feel a connection.   
  
“I know the perfect way to celebrate!” Honey Lemon jolted out of her seat. It startled Varian out of his thoughts, and he glanced down at the dinner table. She and her parents were already done with their food. Varian’s was left, barely a quarter of the way eaten through. “I went out shopping earlier today just for the occasion, since I knew we were on the last stretch!”

She darted upstairs. Varian was left stunned, but Honey’s parents were just giving knowing smiles. Like they knew what was about to happen. Varian asked “shopping for what?” and they just laughed and kept it their little secret.  
  
“Sticker party!”

Honey Lemon had dashed downstairs just as quickly. She was carrying several rolls and sheets worth of stickers in a giant back. And… Varian was now confused. What, exactly, was a ‘sticker party’? He saw how excited Honey looked, though, and could tell it was at least something she seemed to enjoy doing. 

“So… What are we doing with the stickers?” he asked, innocently. 

“Stick them. _ Everywhere _ .” To prove her point, she peeled off blue crescent moon sticker from one of her sheets and stuck it to Varian’s cheek. “We’ll cover the whole house in _ stickers _! It’ll be great! It’s a great way to unwind, and we get to see cute stickers everywhere!”

“Honey is…. Both a scientist and a creative mind,” Honey’s father explained, “little creative bursts like her sticker parties are very… her. It tends to be rather polarizing though. People usually either enjoy being involved in them, or avoid them like the plague.”

“We’ll see which one you wind up being,” her mother finished with a giggle. 

“I mean, I’m… kind of creative?” Varian stated, but it sounded more like a question. “I like to bake a lot… one day I’d run out of scientific inspiration and just baked a boatload of cookies. Dad had to give them out to…. ” He trailed off of his statement. No one asked why. They probably understood as soon as he stopped. 

He closed himself off. One hand wrapped around his body, clinging to his opposite arm. His eyes moved downward. It was fairly obvious what he was thinking about. What he was feeling. He’d never really been the type to hide his emotions. 

Then a little yellow star got stuck to his forehead. 

“I thought we were sticking these around the house, not on each other.”

“I just wanted to cheer you up!”

Varian sighed, then smirked and grabbed one of her sheets of stickers, sticking a little pink heart on her cheek. The game was on. 

Honey tossed him a few packs of stickers, and the two were off. It was actually kind of fun, covering the house in wall-to-wall stickers. They even wound up sticking a few more on each other. Varian was covered in little moons and stars, and Honey had little hearts and kittens all over her. Before long, the only room they hadn't covered was his — Honey always seemed to pull him away from it when he tried to go in. 

"And now the special surprise!" 

And what a surprise it was. From her bag of stickers, she pulled out several sets of stickers that were just… _ raccoons _. From cute, cartoony ones to more detailed ones. "We're going to turn your room into Raccoon Country!"

Varian just couldn't help the grin that made its way into his face. She'd gone looking for all of these for _ him _. Her energy seemed to flow into him, and he eagerly took a sheet of stickers and began sticking them everywhere. Before long his room was covered with raccoons (and the occasional cookie, and some little chemistry beakers). It was honestly so amazing, Varian found himself thinking he didn't want to take any of the stickers down, like they probably would with the others.

"Well!?" Honey Lemon urged him, bouncing playfully as she shook at his shoulders. "How much fun was that!?" 

"That…. Was… _ Amazing _!" He couldn't help jumping around a bit himself, looking around at his new room. "No one's allowed to take these down, for the record."

"I guess your room's off limits for the next sticker party, then," was his sister's response. Still, the grins never left either of their faces as they looked around the room. "Worth it."

"Definitely."

Honey Lemon grabbed her phone, and before Varian realized it pictures of him, covered in stickers, and his new sticker-covered room were being taken. He was pulled in for a picture with Honey, and the two laughed and ran all over the house snapping pictures of their handy work.

Honey's parents simply looked on with a smile. 

He settled into bed that evening with a fuzzy feeling in his stomach. Honey hadn't even asked if he wanted to go with her when she left to get some lab work done after their sticker party. Maybe she was trying to give him some space before she tried again. He was grateful for it, and so he slipped under his covers with Ruddiger and prepared for sleep. 

And then he got a message from his cousin. Curse these time zone differences. 

_Eugene:_

> _ Hey. How're things stateside?_

_Varian:_

> _ They're fine…Honey Lemon and I threw a sticker party today._

_Eugene:_

> _ Sticker party? _

Varian grinned. He went through the pictures he took with Honey Lemon, choosing out the best ones to send to his cousin. One of his room, with the raccoon stickers everywhere. One of the kitchen, with a bunch of food-related stickers and little suns. And one of him and Honey together, still in his room with stickers covering both of them as well. After finding those three, he sent them in place of a definition with a bright grin.

_Varian:_

> [Picture]  
[Picture]  
[Picture]

_Eugene:_

> _ Oh…. You really went ham, huh?_

_Varian:_

> _ It was fun. And my room is Raccoon Country now._

_Eugene:_

> _ I can see that._

_Varian: _

> _ If we ever visit Germany, we’re totally bombing your room with stickers. _

_Eugene:_

> _ Please don’t! _

Varian allowed himself a small bout of mischievous laughter as he pestered Eugene. He was mostly kidding. He didn’t know what the likelihood was he and Honey would even be able to visit Germany any time soon, anyway. Still, it was nice to be able to end the day on a high note. 

So, he was able to tuck into his blanket and smile as he cuddled Ruddiger and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter here right in time for Tangled season 3! Who's hyped for the premiere?~ I know I am. 
> 
> On a note unrelated to the fanfic, I made a Twitter account for my AO3! I'm hoping it will help me stay on top of my updates and more regularly update hiatuses and the like. If you're interested, follow @nullany_ao3! It'll not only give you an extra heads up on my updates, but I'll tease upcoming works, notify hiatuses, and things like that there too. 
> 
> Honestly, I'm not willing to call this a drabble collection anymore??? It seems more like a story with really short chapters. It's a bit too cohesive and I actually plan for it to follow along with the movie as it goes??? But I don't know. Anyway thanks for reading, as always!


	5. Misplaced Agression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honey Lemon only wants to let Varian know she'll be out late, but winds up dealing with an unexpected outburst. It gives the two siblings a chance to bond, however. And ultimately, it ends on a high note.

Varian had been incredibly jumpy lately. It wasn’t that Honey Lemon couldn’t understand why. There was a lot of pressure for him to attend SFIT — from her, and from their parents. They’d all been inquiring about it, though Honey had tried to hold back lately since she realized it made him uncomfortable. Still, things had been tense, and he’d been avoiding any conversation centered around SFIT or meeting her friends (even off campus) since they’d finished moving her in. It was… a problem. 

But one she was fine with taking her time to solve. There was no point in rushing it. 

“Hey, uh… Varian?”

“Yeah, Honey Lemon?”

She’d been standing outside the door to his room. Trying to think of what to say to him. She felt herself having trouble breathing, before eventually walking into his room. The stickers were still there. A few had fallen off in the time since their sticker party, only to be replaced since he loved the way his room was. He was on his bed, nose in a chemistry book and Ruddiger curled up on a pillow beside him. 

“Uh, so… I just wanted to let you know,” she held her hands in front of her. She allowed the fingers on her opposite hands to intertwine and wring around each other as she bounced nervously on her heels. “I’m heading out to school, and — ”

“I’m not going.”

“I-I know!” She responded, awkwardly chipper, to his flat comment as his eyes didn’t even bother to look up from his book. “I don’t want to push you if you’re not ready… I just wanted to let you know I’m meeting up with my friends after so — ”

“I don’t plan on going out tonight.”

“I-I understand.” She’d frozen in place when he started getting short. She held her breath for a moment before moving to sit on his bed. “I’m not trying to push you. I want you to be ready to attend and meet people before — ”

“Well, what if I’m never ready?”

“What?”

There was a moment of tension. Varian closed his book, and was simply staring at her point-blank. It was almost as if the bubbly, positive boy he was, normally, when interacting with her, didn’t exist. It was how she’d seen him interact with many others outside the family. A blank stare, fingers tapping, and straight, pursed lips. 

Honey meanwhile, was visibly nervous. It was a struggle to keep up her smile, and her hands continued wringing around themselves. Her eyes had a hard time making contact, and her mind was reeling. What was she supposed to do here? What did he mean? As the older sister, how should she react?

“What if I don’t _ want _ to go to school!?” It seemed like, all at once, everything her little brother was holding back bubbled to the surface and exploded. “What if I didn’t want to stay here!? What if I just want to leave!?” Tears that had just begun to form before suddenly welled up and began pouring. She tried to move in and hug him, but he just pushed her away. He retreated immediately afterward, putting space between them. 

“I…. Coming here was the whole reason this happened in the first place.” He curled up into that little raccoon ball that she’d seen in the car when they were starting to move. Any time she tried to move close, he scooted away, or pushed her away. “Because I insisted on coming to SFIT, because it’s one of the world’s leading scientific institutes. Dad had to get on that plane… He had to… ”

She couldn’t help it after that. She pushed past his guard, wrestling to get the boy to let her wrap her arms around him. He continued struggling, however. Honey Lemon felt her heart grow cold when her brother wrestled himself away from her. He stared her down, that same blank look, but tears still streaking down his cheeks. Her eyes began to well up with tears as well, but Varian paid it no mind. 

He began attempting to push her out of his room. 

She fought it as best as she could, trying to dig her heels into the floor. Still, she couldn’t really, as the floor was smooth wood, and felt herself being pushed forward. Yet, she continued her struggle. They’d just started really getting along, she didn’t want them to be pushed apart. She wanted to help him, especially now that she understood part of why he’d been so dismissive. 

“Just stop!” He screeched. His voice kept cracking, and he continued to push. “I…. I don’t want to go to SFIT! Not anymore!”

“Not… Anymore?” 

“I don’t care! I don’t care about SFIT! I don’t care about going to school!” He tried to push her away, but this time she decided to step backward and circle around him. The only reason she was able to pull this off was probably because her suddenly stepping backward surprised him enough to cause him to stumble a bit. So, she managed to surprise him with a hug from behind. “I’m not going, no matter what! It was because I wanted to go to SFIT…. I got sick… dad had to go home… and…!”

“Varian, you can’t blame yourself for all that!” She kept clinging onto him. “That was all a coincidence!”

“No it wasn’t!” His voice cracked. He struggled against her hug, but this time she was the one on the offensive and she wasn’t letting go. “It’s all because I wanted to _ come here _ ! I got sick because of the stress of the flight and new environment. Then dad had to go home for work, and wound up on that plane! It’s all because I wanted to move! All because I wanted to come out here, instead of going to some institute back home!”  
  
And then, he just went completely limp. She felt him just slump over as if he’d completely given up. She continued hugging him, thinking of what to say next. How could she help him? With everything he’d been through in such a short time… she really wanted him to see her as family. 

There had been a few times she thought she was close. Like he was going to call her ‘big sis’, or refer to her as his ‘big sister’ to their parents. She’d hear him talking to his family in Germany on his phone, sometimes adding in bits in German as if he was being cautious of anyone hearing him. He’d even called their mom ‘mother’ once before quickly correcting to ‘ma’am’. Though, he’d yet to warm up to dad.

…. For obvious reasons, she surmised. 

“It’s not your fault. It was a string of circumstances that lead to a…. Very unfortunate outcome. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of it!” She moved from hugging to placing her hands on his shoulders. She separated them at arm’s length, looking him straight in the eyes, even if he was avoiding eye contact. “I know you can! You’re normally such a positive person, at least that’s what I’ve seen…. And I know we can’t replace the family you lost… but we really want to be your family. _ I _want to be your family! Can you give us that chance?”

He started biting at his lower lip, looking up at her. Ultimately though, he wound up giving a small chuckle, the bubbly boy was back, slightly. He still seemed melancholic, but he wiped the tears away from his eyes. 

“You are seriously _ just _like her…. ”

“Like who?” Honey Lemon tilted her head curiously, wondering what Varian meant. Did he have family back in Germany that she didn’t know about? He’d told her about his dad, cousin, uncles, and aunt. From what he’d said, the aunt didn’t match up….

“My cousin’s girlfriend, Rapunzel,” he responded, “I guess I have two big sister figures. Though… I guess one is actually my ‘sister’, huh?” He gave her a sheepish smile, and she bounced happily and wrapped her arms around him. 

“Are we that similar?” Honey asked. 

“Well… She’s not really a… science-y person,” Varian ultimately seemed to decide, nodding. “So, it’s not like you’re exact twins or anything. But she’s an oddball, really optimistic, loves to see the best in people… and an artist.”

“Oooh, I’d love to meet her!” Honey Lemon couldn’t resist her bouncing. She wanted to meet everyone Varian had told her about, of course! Their family adopting him meant that his family was sort of their extended family. So they all needed to have a big family gathering for a holiday or something. She’d have to get planning on that. “You think we could organize some big family get together or something?”

“Maybe, but let’s focus on one thing at a time...” He chuckled and proceeded to start pushing her out of the room again. For a moment, she was worried. She looked back at him, but the smile that had slowly been growing seemed to be spreading from ear to ear now. “I need you to wait outside. I need to change if I’m coming to see SFIT, right?”

“Oh, I can’t wait! You’re going to love it! I’m so excited!”And, her excitement was probably showing on her face, now. She felt so giddy the moment those words left his mouth, and she practically skipped out to go get ready herself. 

“Oh, and Honey Lemon?” She heard him calling after her as she left, and turned to face him. As she did so, he closed the distance almost instantly, and was suddenly hugging her out of nowhere. “Ich liebe dich, große Schwester.” The words were said softly, and in German, so she didn’t really understand them…. 

But she had a feeling they were really important to Varian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't posted a new chapter of this since before season 3 aired! That's.... not really something to be proud of. Still, I have chapters of another fanfiction I work on as well. On top of that, I created a couple short one-shots for a friend. Essentially, I've just been writing a lot for other things but I'm back in action! That said, since it's been so long, I did kind of rush this chapter out once I DID start working on it. I think it still turned out well, but I definitely could have gone over it, re-read, and added, deleted, or changed a few things maybe. 
> 
> Oh, but speaking of season 3. All I could think about in episode one was how Varian's little alchemy orb/bubbles made me draw connections to Honey Lemon even more???? They were meant to be siblings!!! I love them!! 
> 
> Ultimately, I hoped I made this whole situation feel organic enough and not rushed or random? I mean, there's an extent of it being a sudden outburst, but I hope I managed to make it seem like it was just something that was long coming, with little hints earlier on, and that you guys enjoyed this. I'm so excited to go into what comes next! Because -- 
> 
> If you can't tell, what's happened so far has been confined to its own little time frame. That said, all of this takes place BEFORE the events of the movie. So, what comes next then? Obviously, the movie! Which... we'll be starting with the next one~ It's really just turned into a proper story at this point... that said, it will be jumping around a lot still, and not just flowing with the happenings of the movie. It's meant to be in Varian and Honey's perspective after all, so there are a lot of areas where they wouldn't be around.~


	6. A Type

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian finally gets the chance to visit SFIT. He meets Honey's friends, learns about their projects. And he also learns a little about himself in the process.

SFIT was…  _ huge. _ It was hard not to be intimidated by the sheer scope of the school. As he stepped out of the car(as their parents had decided to drop them off, having been ecstatic when he told them Honey was taking him on a small tour) and into the school itself, he felt smaller than he already knew he was. 

"Come on, come on! The lab my friends and I use is over this way!"   
  
Honey dragged him energetically through halls by his wrist, bouncing every few steps. He didn't complain. Though his stomach was a twist of butterflies, filled with nerves, excitement, dread, happiness, and regret all at once. Then he looked up at his sister, instead of the floor. She grinned. 

His stomach twist undid itself a little.

He smiled sheepishly back. 

She bounced. 

The twist was completely gone. 

"Okay, okay! It's just in here!" She clapped ecstatically before opening the door. They walked in, and it was filled with students working over their projects. In one word? Glorious. And he thought his excitement must be showing on his face, because Honey was beaming downat him like she'd won some sort of game. "Awesome, right!? Just wait til you meet my friends! Ooh, I'm so excited!"

"You can tone the excitement down just a little, sis." Apparently the casual comment warranted a bear hug, because that's what happened. He clambered and struggled to get out of the suffocating hug, to no avail. "Sis, seriously, let me go!" Oh god she was squeezing tighter. 

"You've never called me sis before!"

"Okay, I get you're happy, but you're suffocating me here!"

"Oh, sorry!" After realizing how tight her grip on him was, she finally let go. “Anyway, right! Friends! Let’s see if we can find them in the lab tonight!” He struggled to catch his breath from her earlier hug as he followed her. Something that proved rather fruitless, as the breath he’d struggled to get back left him almost instantly. 

“Er… Sis?”

“Yeah?”

“Who’s  _ that? _ ” He didn't need to point. He'd been staring long enough, Honey simply followed his line of sight to the girl in question. Dark hair, purple streak I her bangs (though hers was  _ probably  _ dyed), working on a bright yellow bike. 

"Oh that's Go-Go!" She grabbed his wrist, pulling him forward. He found himself choking on air as they walked up, Honey oblivious to her brother's rising body temperature. "Go-Go! Look over here!"

"Oh, hey, Honey Lemon." Go-Go, as Honey had called her, turned to acknowledge the pair but quickly returned to work on her bike. "Finally pulled Pinstripe along, huh?" 

"Pinstripe?" Varian's reaction was a blend of indignant screeching and bemused inquiry. He looked at Honey for answers, and she began sheepishly twirling her long hair. 

"Oh, uh, you see…." 

"She basically wouldn't stop toting around pictures of you. Fred gave you the nickname. It stuck. Deal with it."

"You showed them those pictures!?" 

"W-well you didn't say not to, and…"

Varian groaned. Great, the first thing his sister's friends saw of him we're pictures of him in his pajamas. That was a great first impression. Still, he couldn't really stay mad at Honey, either. He was just as excitable, and had admittedly sent a few pictures his family's was as well.

It was almost like the two of them were actually blood related, thinking on it.

"It's alright," he responded, "Just… a bit embarrassing. I'm in my pajamas in most of those…"

"Cute jammies, by the way." Oh. Go-Go was that type. Who enjoyed rubbing salt in wounds. He tried to avoid eye contact with her at all costs. Which is probably how they wound up on the wheels of her bike. 

"Whoa, electro mag suspension!" He then proceeded to fawn over the bike. One good thing about being in a school filled with other science-minded individuals. No one judged him for his outbursts…. Most of the time. “With the right materials to resist friction, this could be one of the fastest bikes ever invented!”

“Kind of the point. Zero Resistance. Still trying to get it just right.”

“I mean I could probably create some sort of compound that you could use as a coating to lower the friction and resistance even further and — ”

“My project. My rules. Nice try though.”

_ Crap _ . He had a  _ type _ . Independent, intelligent, witty, stubborn, confident brunettes. And what was his thing with older men and women!? Note to self: Cass and Eugene were never to find out about this. 

“Taking it for a spin. Nice meeting you.” Go-Go attached a wheel to the bike, put on her helmet, and rode off. And Varian was left completely in the dust — in multiple ways, to boot. 

“Whoa...” He watched the bike speed off, doing laps around the lab. He hardly noticed as his sister gently tugged him toward another section of the lab as he processed everything that had just happened. 

“Wasabi!” Honey continued pulling him forward, stopping just behind a yellow and black striped line. Varian looked at her, then down to the line. As he took a step forward, though, a hand reached out to stop him. 

“Hap-ap-ap, little man. Behind the line, please.” The dark-skinned young man removed a pair of goggles, glancing up to look at Honey. Naturally, she was still bouncing on her toes, biting her lip with excitement. “Hey there, Honey Lemon. See you finally brought Pinstripe along.”

“Yep!” She eagerly took the opportunity to continue the conversation. “He’s still a little…. Withdrawn, but at least he’s considering starting here now! He just met Go-Go… I think it went well. Why don’t you show him you’re project!?”

“Well, he came all the way here. But it’s not exactly subtle.”

He wasn’t wrong. In fact, Varian had already noticed it, and was locking eyes with the wall of lasers the entire time they were talking. When Wasabi mentioned it, though, Varian couldn’t help letting out a little squeal of excitement(as he was prone to do around anything science, really).    


“Ohmygod! Laser induced plasma! So cool!” He started his own version of Honey Lemon’s bouncing, unable to control himself at this point. “I mean I dabble a little in physics — a little in everything really, but there’s no way I couldpulloffsomethinglikethisit’samazing!”

“Uh, your sentences are starting to run together.” Wasabi pointed out. Varian then proceeded to instantly stop bouncing, cover his mouth, and back behind Honey Lemon. “Honey, are you sure he’s not your long-lost blood related brother? I’m already seeing the similarities.”

“I’m sure.” She playfully waved away his statement, before grabbing onto Varian’s shoulders. She shook him a little as she bounced, doing her own version of his overly-excited squealing. “But it’s great right? We have so much in common!”

“To an eerie extent, if you ask me...”

Honey and Wasabi continued their conversation, meanwhile Varian decided to have a look around. He walked over to Wasabi’s workspace, getting a look at his tools and materials. He was careful not to touch anything, especially seeing all the lines painted around the objects. Someone definitely didn’t like his things being moved. 

“You know, you can tell a lot about how a person works through their workspace.” He got their attention as he poked around Wasabi’s table — again, being careful not to touch anything. He could see the expression on his face whenever he did, and decided it would be a bad idea. “From yours… I can imagine you probably don’t want to see  _ mine _ .”

The brother-sister duo shared a knowing laugh. Honey had seen his lab — she could definitely attest to what he’d said. Afterward, Honey grabbed his arm, leaving Wasabi questioning what he’d meant by that. 

“Speaking of work spaces, I want to show you mine!” Varian allowed himself to be dragged along into his sister’s section of the lab. He was instantly drawn to the beakers and chemicals, trying to place each one. He assumed she’d been talking about what her project was, but he was so absorbed he hardly noticed. “ — Wait here!”

“Uh-huh...” His response was dull. He continued poking around the station as she left, looking at the platform on the floor and wondering what it was for. He felt like he’d only been poking around for a few moments when — 

“Coming through!” His sister came rolling in with a huge ball of Tungsten Carbide. Two guys were following after her — one seemed around his age, which was odd. At least, it was to him, until. “Tadashi!”

As she set the huge ball of metal on the platform in her work area, Honey rolled backwards to meet the newcomers. He took note of her lingering around Tadashi specifically — oh, he was eyeing her too. Wasn't that something?

"And you must be Hiro! I've heard so much about you!" He remembered Honey telling him about Tadashi and his kid genius brother. Looked like they were finally meeting. "Perfect timing. Perfect. Come over here, you're gonna love this."

She pulled Hiro over to where he was. The other teen was only a bit taller than Varian himself, so at least he didn't feel super short anymore. As Hiro regarded him, he gave a sheepish wave and then went right back to staring at Honey's project to keep from looking in Hiro's direction. 

Honey went down the list of chemicals. Perchloric Acid, Cobalt, Hydrogen Peroxide. Varian began putting together what exactly was about to happen, and he bit his lower lip, trying to hold in his bouncing and excitement. Hiro was giving him side glances and undoubtedly noticed, but he was trying not to think about that. 

"Tah-dah!" Honey through a switch, and they were left with a giant pink ball of metal instead of black. 

"It's so… pink," was Hiro's rather keen observation.

"Here's the best part." Honey was practically singing as she approached the ball, but Varian began bouncing almost instantly.

"Can I do it? Can I do it?" He bounced excitedly as Honey seemed to think on it. Then, she removed her lab coat and gave it to him. The bouncing got a bit more…. Bouncy…. And he slipped the coat on instantly (and yes it was huge on him. Honey and Tadashi seemed to be chuckling at the sight. Hiro was eyeing him, but he couldn't really tell why or in what way.). 

He approached the pink metal and held out his hand. The moment it made contact, the ball of tungsten simply turned into bright pink smoke… and it was amazing. 

"Wow." 

"I know, right!?" Honey excitedly responded to the awestruck Hiro. "Chemical metal embrittlement!" Varian joined in unison with Honey there, and the two just bounced and hugged each other. 

"Not bad, Honey Lemon." And, they were eyeing each other again. What would it take for him to convince Honey to even get to the flirting stage? "And I take it this is Pinstripe."

"Oh, yes!" Honey Lemon responded, pulling him over. "This is my little brother!"

"Go-Go? Wasabi? Honey Lemon? Pinstripe?" Hiro's reaction to the nicknames was about the same as Varian's. They felt ridiculous and so far out of left field — well, Varian's was pretty obvious.

"Fred comes up with the nicknames." 

"Who's Fred?" Hiro questioned his brother. Varian mimicked his curiosity, but it was directed at his sister. 

"This guy, right here!"

The newcomer, apparently Fred, interrupted the conversation. When the two teens turned to greet them, the surprise they were met with made both of them yelp. Their older siblings chuckled slightly, exchanging looks. 

“Oh, no, don’t be alarmed, it is just a suit.” The young man inside the strange, lizard-like mascot suit shed part of it. He smiled at the two, shaking each of their hands a bit too vigorously before retreating back into said suit. “The name’s Fred. School mascot by day, but by night... I am also a school mascot.”

“So, what’s your major?” Hiro asked.    


“No, I’m not a student,” Fred explained as he walked over to take a seat in one of the chairs in the lab. “But I am a major science enthusiast. I’ve been trying to get Honey to create a serum that can turn me into a fire breathing lizard at will. She says it’s not science.” Honestly, the moment he made those air quotations and held up a comic book, Varian zoned him out. 

“Hey… Can I see that?” He pointed to the small robot in Hiro’s hand, and the other gave it to him. He gave it a good look over, and his eyes lit up as he did so. “Magnetic-bearing servos… the metal’s surprisingly sturdy, too… this is really cool!”

“Well, yeah.” Hiro seemed to grow an inch from how straight he was suddenly standing to showcase his pride. “It’s won me a lot of bot-fights, I’m pretty proud of it. You’re probably a Chem major right? I could show you a thing or two.”

Oh god. Oh no. He had a type. 

“Ah, I… Don’t actually go here,” he managed to squeak out. “I- I mean I  _ want  _ to. I just… don’t. Yet. But um… Yeah, I’m planning on being a chem major. I’ve actually dabbled in a lot though. A lot of engineering, robotics, really.”

“And, he’s rambling.”

“S-Sorry!” Varian’s overly earnest apology to his playful nudge made Hiro laugh. Then the other was called over by his brother.    


“Well, guess I should go see what he wants. Nice meeting you, Pinstripe.”

“V-Varian!” He squeaked out. “I mean… I don’t mind the nickname but… uh… ”

“It’s fine. Later, Varian.”

Oh god. Independent, intelligent, witty, stubborn, confident brunettes. A  _ type. _ And this time it was someone near his age. Oh god, he was doomed. 

“Hey, Varian!” Honey waved to him. “We should get going before mom and dad worry!”

“Coming, sis!” He ran up to her, got caught in a bear hug, and the two said goodbye to the group before leaving the lab. “That was… Amazing!”

“That, or he?” His sister teased, causing him to let out a sound stuck between a screech and a squeak. “You’ve got a crush.~”

“Oh, get off my case, sis!” He play wrestled with her as they walked. The two laughed and ran along the streets. “Besides, you’ve apparently already claimed his brother so it’s not like it matters if I did!”   
  
This time it was Honey’s turn to squeak as she began to shove at him. Eventually, with all their play-fighting back and forth, they found their way home. As they walked in, Varian took a breath, and timidly looked up at Honey. 

“So… How do I get in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is here! So, we're getting into movie shenanigans, now. I'm also changing the tags to reflect a few things. 
> 
> Originally I was planning on making any shipping more implied than shown in-chapter. I wasn't really planning on making it a major focus of this story. And while it's still very much a sideline thing -- as I want the focus to be on Varian and Honey's relationship as siblings, and their quirky interactions. I still felt like actually getting a little shipping going. It will help with some emotional moments during the movie's events, so it might take a bit more of the stage here. Once we get into post-move, series-ish content it will start taking a back seat again. 
> 
> Also, another note. Varian's little 'squish' on Go-Go here is short lived for one reason. He understands that he's a minor, and girls like Go-Go and Cass wouldn't really give him a second glance. Hence. Short lived. ^o^b 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! This was longer than the others.... oops.


	7. Scientific Process

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparations for SFIT's expo are underway, and Honey Lemon is doing her best to keep an eye on her little brother. She's able to learn a bit about his plans for his presentation, but ultimately the project itself remains a mystery.

“Varian?”

She worked her way into the lab the two of them shared. Well, lately it was more like Varian’s personal lab, since he’d been using it constantly working on his project for the expo in hopes of getting into SFIT. Counters, beakers, and tables were filled with different chemicals, vials, notes, and all sorts of things. He was busy at work when she walked in. 

Ruddiger was darting back and forth grabbing papers and vials for his owner. It was kind of adorable seeing a little raccoon darting back and forth, grabbing tools in his little hands or teeth, and passing them over to Varian. 

“Oh, hi there Honey Lemon!”

Hearing Varian call someone else’s name, Ruddiger scurried up onto his owner’s shoulders. Varian gave his little pet a scratch behind the ears, and it took every ounce of willpower Honey Lemon had not to want to tackle him with a big hug right there. Honestly, she never got sick of seeing the two of them together - cuteness. Overload. 

“Whatcha workin on?”

“What else? My presentation for the expo!”

In front of her little brother was a mass of different chemicals. Centered on all of it was a burner with a vial of bright blue - something? It was a liquid-state chemical of some sort, but it was practically glowing bright-blue. It was honestly quite beautiful watching the blue liquid with little black flecks bubble on the burner, she felt like she could stare at it all day. 

Varian seemed like he was testing different combinations when she walked in, but now he was hovering over the blue beaker. He took a small wooden plank that was sitting on his desk and dipped it in the blue substance, holding it in for a few seconds before pulling it out. Her eyes lit up as the blue liquid coating the plank quickly turned black as soon as it was taken away from the heat. 

“What was  _ that _ !?”

“Interested?” Varian said with a smirk. “I’m still working on it, it’s not quite the same as when I first experimented with it so I’m trying to figure it out again. Basically - it’s something I’ve been working on for a while. My first experiments with it didn’t go too well and my dad banned me from working on it — there MIGHT have been an accident. Er, that caused this.” He twirled parts of his bangs around his finger, specifically the blue-streaked part. 

“So this is what caused your hair stripe?”

“Yeah, basically. You’ll have to wait for the expo to get the full details though.”

“Oh come on, why can’t you tell me!?~ Hiro’s told us about his project.” She bounced over to him, picking up the beaker and eyeing it curiously. Her brother instantly snatched it back, however, and set it back on the gentle burner. 

“Because I want to do it myself - besides, it can be pretty dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing with it, and it’s not really a project I need multiple people for anyway.” He carefully used an eyedropper to give a few more drops of chemical into his beaker before putting it into a black container that seemed completely airtight. “It’s important it stays warm for now, so I’m leaving it there. Were we going to Hiro’s?”

“Oh! Yes right!” She’d almost forgotten why she’d come into the lab in the first place. She grabbed her brother’s arm and dragged him away from the container. Ruddiger scurried onto his shoulder and she grinned. “Let’s get all this tidied up then head over to Tadashi and Hiro’s place - we’re all meeting up to help him work on his project!”

“Alright, alright. I’m working on it, Honey Lemon.” The mirth, and joy that seemed to have bubbled back up into his voice since he’d first come to SFIT was brilliant, to her. It seemed like he’d come alive since he started working on his project for the expo - giggling as he worked and bouncing as he walked. Even as he tidied his work area he was positively beaming. “I’m going to get changed into some, uh… non chemical-smelling clothes before we go.”

“I don’t think it matters that much, we’re all scientists.” She giggled.   
  
“I’m changing.  _ Then _ . We’re going.” He put emphasis on his statement and darted upstairs. 

Of course, she knew  _ why _ he was so insistent, she wasn’t dense. She couldn’t help but think about how precious her little brother was, and let the conversation go. She waited for him by the front door — and wasn’t surprised when he came down with Ruddiger perched on his shoulders. 

“Okay, we can go now.” He fed a little piece of food to Ruddiger, who grabbed it quickly, then passed a piece to her. She got excessively giddy at the motion, and happily fed the raccoon as well. “It’s not a problem if he comes along is it?”

“No I don’t think so,” she responded. “Tadashi has a pet cat, himself. Though well — We might get an amusing reaction out of Wasabi.”

“That’s honestly part of the reason I wanted to bring him — ”

They both shared laughter at that image, and headed out on their way. Her little brother was a more impish boy than she’d expected it seemed. Harmless, but he certainly seemed to enjoy poking fun at people. 

“Alright then let’s go!” He bounced ahead, and she followed after him. 

“No need to rush over to Hiro, Varian.” She said, intentionally leaving off the concept that they were going to ‘Hiro’s’ not ‘Hiro’, and knowing exactly what she was insinuating while doing so. Varian went about as beet red as she did whenever he teased her about Tadashi - it was a back-and-forth game with them at this point. 

“Ugh, hush.” His voice shook a little as he grumbled and pulled her along. 

They took the trolley system over to the Lucky Cat cafe. Lately, the group had been taken to hovering around Hiro and helping him in his project - as it was rather large scale. Varian was more secretive about his, unfortunately. They all offered to help, but he insisted he could manage it on his own, and today was the first time she’d learned anything about the project - and she probably wouldn’t get any more details until the day of the presentation knowing how stubborn the boy was. 

“Ah! Honey Lemon, Pinstripe! Looks like you’re here.” Fred beckoned the two of them over when he saw them approach Hiro’s lab. 

“How’s Hiro’s project going?” She asked as the pair of them rejoined the group. “It seems like he’s been working really hard on it lately.”

“Well, I’d be worried if he wasn’t making progress with how close the deadline is.” Tadashi laughed and she felt her heart flutter a bit. He placed an arm around her shoulder, and though she knew it was a friendly motion she could feel the fluttering turn into pounding. 

“Hiro!” The pounding slowed as she turned to see Varian walking up to the aforementioned child genius. “It looks like your project is going along really well.”

“You could say that,” Hiro responded as he continued going about his work. He reached back and forth for tools as Wasabi was futilely trying to reorganize them, and didn’t look up right away. “You haven’t come over since I started on it, have you?”

“Well, I’ve been working on my own project,” Varian responded, “It’s a bit… volatile, as chemistry can be, so it requires my utmost attention.”

“Well then if you’re here it means we’re both almost - A raccoon?” 

Hiro had finally turned away from his work to face Varian, only to have Ruddiger climb up to his shoulder. The two laughed, and though Honey Lemon was smiling at the interaction between the two, Tadashi was placing a hand on her shoulder.   
  
“You okay?” he asked. 

“I’m just a bit worried,” she giggled. “Normally I wouldn’t be, but Varian’s project is dealing with some completely unknown substance - according to him an accident with it is why he has that teal streak. Afterwards his dad basically banned him from tampering with it.”

“So the thing Pinstripe’s making is why he became “Pinstripe” in the first place?” Fred, who it seemed overheard, piped in.

“Yeah.” She responded with a laugh. “And I’m a little worried. I know he’s perfectly capable in a chem lab, but he’s dealing with something no one knows anything about.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Tadashi responded, giving her a reassuring smile. “I get nervous when Hiro tries to mess with tricky ideas too, but they’re kid geniuses for a reason. If they’re going to be college students, we have to have a little faith in them.”

“I guess you have a point.”

“Honey Lemon, I always have a point.~”

The pair laughed. They watched as their siblings chattered, as Varian passed tools back and forth to Hiro (and Wasabi backed away every time Varian came too close with Ruddiger on his shoulder). She was worried, yes, but she supposed she had to understand that Varian knew what he was doing. She’d seen him working in the lab before, and he seemed to be doing just fine. Still, she had to wonder how bad the accident that left his streak must have been, for his father to have banned working on it. 

“We’ll just have to look forward to what both of them have up their sleeves.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” And she was. She knew her little brother was working on something big - and knew that it would impress everyone there, whatever it was. That mysterious blue liquid that turned black - what exactly was Varian experimenting with? “I hope everything goes well. Honestly, I’m kind of looking forward to the expo.”

“Well both our brothers seem to have something pretty crazy in their heads.” Tadashi only took his eyes off their brothers as he finished his statement, giving her a reassuring smile. “I guess they kind of rubbed off on each other - they seem to have given each other a lot of positive energy.”

“I’m surprised. Varian’s been so negative since he was adopted into my family.” She felt Tadashi’s hand on her shoulder, and smiled meekly. “Of course, he and I got along from day one. Still, it was only after he met everyone here and I convinced him to apply to SFIT he really started opening up.”

“I think you had more of a role in it than you think.” His comment confused her for a moment, and she supposed it must have shown on her face. Tadashi seemed to get a kick out of her expression as he continued, anyway. “Hiro won’t stop talking about Varian. He gets all sulky at times though, since apparently Varian won’t shut up about  _ you _ .”

“Really? When he talks to me he won’t stop talking about Hiro - ”

“Oh yeah,” Tadashi responded with a chuckle. “According to Hiro, the few times they’ve talked since they met he keeps talking about how amazing his big sister is - he’s gotten quite attached to you it seems like.”

And that made the warm feeling Tadashi had given her even warmer. Of course, she knew Varian had been opening up to her more. It wasn’t like she thought he didn’t care about him - but knowing she had played a bigger role in breaking down his walls than she’d thought made her so happy. 

“I should talk with him about that later.” She watched over the two boys alongside her friend, and the two of them rejoined the group chattering excitedly about Hiro’s project. They were all helping in their own ways. Of course, Hiro was the one directing the project, he had to do it mostly on his own for it to count toward the expo, after all. 

Still, they were all cheering him, and Varian, on. 

After they worked together on the project for a while, they all sat down for a meal at the cafe before everyone separated. It was the same every time they went to check on Hiro, but Varian always got excited afterward like it was a novel experience. Maybe it was because he holed himself up in his lab working on his own project so much, he didn’t get the chance to go check in on Hiro as often as the others. 

As the two of them were headed for home, Varian was chatting excitedly about everything that had happened, and she couldn’t help it. She wrapped her arms around him in a big bear hug, and the cascade of words that were being released stopped at once. 

“Honey Lemon?” He was looking at her inquisitively, with those sarcastically arched eyebrows of his. Of course, neither of them were strangers to random affection - they were both affectionate so out of the blue hugs happened a lot. Still, it didn’t usually happen in the middle of conversations, so he had a right to his curiosity. 

“Oh, sorry,” she responded as she took her arms from around him. “I’ve just had something on my mind all day.”

“On your mind?”

“Uh, so...” She elongated her sentence a bit, but the freckled, puffy cheeks that urged her to speak pushed her forward. Reaching out to pinch one of them as they puffed outward, she continued her statement more quickly. “Tadashi might have told me that you apparently talk to Hiro about me a lot.”

“ _ Gott!  _ I told Hiro not to tell anyone about that!” Oh, his face just went the brightest shade of rosy pink, how cute. “S-Sorry...”

“Why are you sorry?” She grinned, pulling him in for another bear hug. “It made me so happy! Honestly I thought Hiro and the others were the reason you’d been opening up so much lately.”

“Well, you aren’t entirely wrong there,” he responded. “They did help - they’re great, and they kind of remind me of my friends, back home in Germany. But honestly? I never would have met them, or opened up as much, if you hadn’t been stubborn enough to keep giving me gentle shoves in the right direction.”

He hugged her back, and that warm fuzzy feeling came back. “Thank you.” Was all she could say as she playfully ruffled at his hair. “Come on, let’s hurry home so you can keep working on your project. I’m looking forward to seeing what you have to show everyone.”

“I am too,” he agreed with her and shot her a nervous smile that seemed like it could light up a room. “I just hope… I can actually get it to work this time.”

“How is it going? Compared to last time I mean.”

“It’s… Going better this time I think.” His index finger twirled around strands of teal-colored hair, as if reminiscing about whatever happened to him back in Germany. “I rushed into it, back at home. I was so curious about a new substance that I didn’t think before tampering with it. I’m trying to be more careful this time.”

“Then I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She gave the top of Varian’s head an affectionate little peck, and pulled at his wrist gently as they moved forward. “You’ll be fine, Varian. I’m sure of it.”

“Thanks, Honey Lemon.” His eyes seemed to move back from their cloudy state to be back in the present, and he continued with her. “Alright! It’s straight back to the lab with me. I’ve got to make sure to finish in time for the expo!”

“Just don’t forget to get some rest too!” She called out as she chased after him.

And so, Varian continued to bury himself in his studies until the day of the Expo - honestly, once he got started with something, he didn’t stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this took a while! I'm happy to be back in the swing of writing, but I feel like this is something of a dull chapter to return on. I'm very sorry about that. Still, I wanted some fluffy pre-expo sibling interactions and a way to move forward from Varian and Honey Lemon's perspective into the expo - so this is what happened! I hope you guys are still able to enjoy it since I did my best to move things forward a bit. Thing's will get moving again starting in the next one!


	8. The Highest of Highs, The Lowest of Lows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the night of the Expo, and time for Varian to showcase his big project. He's flying high that night, surrounded by new friends and feeling the closest to belonging that he had in some time - until his world comes crashing down.

“I am not nervous!”  
  
“Yeah, he’s totally nervous - ”

“It’s okay, Hiro! Your tech is amazing.”

The group took turns throwing jabs at Hiro as the ex-bot fighter insisted he wasn’t nervous about their upcoming presentations. Varian trailed behind them, wheeling his own portable chemistry station with him and going over his own presentation in his head. 

“Why aren’t you teasing Varian about it!?”

“Well,” oh, now Tadashi was joining in on it too - poor Hiro. “He doesn’t actually seem all that nervous, really.”

“And I  _ do _ !?”

“It just means they can pick up on nervous energy,” Varian joked back with a chuckle. “I’m used to being on stage, don’t worry Hiro.” He playfully pat the other teen on the top of his head, getting his hand swatted away in the process. “My composure comes with  _ experience _ , you see~”

The exasperated expression on Hiro’s face made Varian unable to resist his urge to burst into little chuckles, himself. Though, he did manage to hold it in for a few minutes. 

“You’ve been on stage before, Varian?”

“Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you Honey Lemon?” He turned to his sister sheepishly, and pulled out his phone. His wallpaper was a picture of himself and Eugene, he’d changed it after arriving in America. It gave him some form of strength to keep going after everything that happened. “My cousin had me take theater classes when I was in high school. Said that it’d give me the skills to speak in front of crowds for presentations and help teach me techniques to fend off stage fright.”

“That explains where all that dramatic bluster comes from.” Go-Go responded dryly, and he could only shakily chuckle in response. Yeah, he could be a bit dramatic at times, couldn’t he?

“Well what’s important is it helped!” He shot back quickly - though the others took note of the way his voice cracked, and he swear he saw Hiro laughing behind the hand that was partially obscuring his face. 

_ “Next Presenter. Hiro Hamada.” _

“Oooh!” Honey Lemon bounced, pulling her own phone out and corralling the group together. “Come on!~ Photo, photo!”

They each crowded around the little area of the phone’s camera. It felt weird, being part of a group photo. The last time he’d done this was…. No, he needed to get the thought of Germany out of his head. He had a presentation coming up he had to worry about - and cheering for Hiro’s as well. 

“Good luck.” 

Hiro returned his sheepish grin, and the two stood in silence for a moment, neither really sure what to say in response. After a moment, though, Hiro jolted as he realized he needed to be on stage and dashed off towards his presentation. Varian caught sight of him talking to his brother just before going on stage, but didn’t think too much about it. 

This was a new side to Hiro, for him. He was used to the almost insufferably overconfident, sarcastic persona Hiro usually portrayed. He enjoyed the playful, witty, slightly sardonic banter they usually kept up. Yet, seeing him all hunched over on the stage gave off a completely different image - and it honestly reminded Varian more and more of himself. He shot the other teen a small thumbs up - reminding him he wasn’t the only “kid” who was going to have to put on a presentation, almost. That made him perk up a bit, and Tadashi and his aunt took care of the rest of the calming down.   
  
And honestly - if Varian wasn’t nervous before Hiro’s presentation, he definitely was after. 

“Honey Lemon, how am I supposed to compete with that!?” 

He was practically pulling his own hair out. Oh god, how he wished he’d presented before Hiro instead of after. How was he supposed to follow up a presentation like that!? Hiro had completely wowed the crowd with his invention. There was no way he could get that kind of reaction - 

“Varian. Varian, Varian!” Honey Lemon grabbed onto his shoulders, and the way she shook him caused his head to spin for a moment, before he grounded himself back into what was happening. “You’re going to be  _ fine. _ You’re my brilliant, squirrely little raccoon, and I know you can pull this out of the hat. Don’t worry about getting a reaction as strong as Hiro’s - just focus on presenting your work as best as you can.”

“Did you really just akin me to two different rodents - ”

“Yes I did, deal with it.” Her smile made warmth spread through him - a warmth that made him feel ten times more determined and energized than ever. “Now you’re going to go up there. Present your project. It’s going to be  _ amazing _ . And you’re going to get into SFIT. Got it?”

“Got it!” He walked up towards the stage, taking deep breaths as he did so. Before he went on stage, though, he decided he needed an extra shot of energy. He ran back over to Honey Lemon before she could turn back to join the audience, and gave her a big hug. “I’ll make you proud.”

“I know you will.” She responded, and he felt the warmth of her fingers intermingling with his hair as she pat his head, too. “You’ll make him proud, too.”

She didn’t elaborate who ‘him’ was. She didn’t need to. Varian felt a tug on his heartstrings as he gave his sister one last smile and knew now, more than ever, he was going to trek on. That was right -  _ he _ was probably watching him right now, and he was going to do everything he could to show him he could handle himself, now.

He looked at his little tarp-covered chemistry table on wheels. He took in a breath, and rather than using the mic given to him hooked his own hands-free mic to his shirt. It was time to get this show on the road - he could do this. 

“Hello there! I’m Varian Quinn, and well. I won’t mince words - I know you’re all here for the sweet tech, robots, and chemistry is probably the farthest thing from your minds.” Okay, good. He got them laughing, at least a little bit, this could work. “Still, after that - incredibly difficult to follow - presentation, I hope you’ll all listen to my own presentation.”

He took a deep breath, and pulled the tarp off of his table. The beakers were set up on portable burners, and a couple chunks of black material were scattered around the table (more for presentation than anything). Alright. He needed to really sell this - please, please.  _ Please _ . Go over well. 

“So, you might not be able to tell, but I’m from Germany - ” Yes, jokes about his accent worked. Time to keep the crowd going. “Some time ago, there was a meteor shower near my hometown. It left us with these strange rocks, which scientists figured were probably some odd moon rocks.”

He held up the rock samples, walking to the front of the stage. “Now, these rocks have some peculiar properties. They’re harder than diamonds - almost completely unbreakable. Sharp. The thing is, as amazing a discovery as these things are - they’re completely impervious to any form of artificial manipulation, so being able to mold or use them for  _ anything _ is basically impossible. So, the scientific community in Germany decided to just leave them be.”

He walked back toward his table, then, plopping the rock in his hand into one of his beakers, and twisting and turning knobs in his setup to filter and add certain chemicals and compounds into the mix. “The thing is. After a few… disastrous… attempts, I found a way to transfer the properties of the rocks into a special chemical compound I’ve designed.”

At the end of his trail of beakers and chemicals, it all came together into a single beaker that was left on a low-temperature burner. The bright blue, luminescent compound was his pride and joy - even if it didn’t quite seem to catch everyone’s attention the way Hiro’s microbots had. Couldn’t win them all, could he?

“I call this new compound Luna Quirite, or Lunarite. It’s important it’s kept.  _ Warm _ . Too hot, and well...” He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a dry chuckle. “Let’s just say the blue streak in my hair isn’t dye. But when it cools - that’s when the real  _ magic _ happens.”

He took the beaker he had in one hand - and in one fluid motion he poured it over a length of plywood before setting it back on the burner. “You want to do it quickly, or find another method of application, as with a beaker like this - excess will cool and could shatter the glass in your hand - or uh, just make it utterly useless and in need of replacing. Because when it cools...”

He held up the plywood the blue liquid had been coated over, revealing it to be coated not in blue chemical, but - as he’d been hoping to achieve - a slick, black, solid substance. The onlookers seemed intrigued - and now it was time for the clincher.   
  
“Now, I haven’t been able to fully copy the indestructible nature of the moon rocks -  _ but _ I’ve gotten close. This substance is more durable than any metal in existence.” He knocked on the substance coating the plywood a few times, before showing several tests of its durability (though he wasn’t allowed to bring a lot of tools on stage to do so, he was pretty sure he got his point across). “Once the substance cools, the coating it forms is nigh-indestructible. Though it will break under enough pressure, it takes more than most situations can give. Plus, while it can be broken by diamonds, there’s nothing else that  _ can _ affect it. Not only that, it’s far more stable. The extreme heats that would cause combustion….” He held it up to one of the flames on his table, glad to see that it seemed completely unscathed. “...do nothing to it, now. Used in architecture or other endeavors, think of what it could do for public safety, or anti-earthquake precautions in construction. The only way to neutralize it is with another special compound I’ve designed - ”

Then he pulled out a small vial of a compound he had on him that was glowing bright yellow. “This one is far more stable than Lunarite. It can be carried around, and is non-toxic and handles high temperatures very well. Which is probably a good thing since I used materials taken from solar flares to create it...”

He gave a shaky chuckle as he sprinkled the vial of the new compound on the plywood, and the cooled Lunarite completely melted away. “This compound, called Soltrin, and as you can see, it counteracts the effects of the solid Lunarite. It completely dissolves it, so there’s no worry of combustion or other negative side-effects. With a little creativity, this could be used in so many different ways - better-reinforced train lines for transportation, we’ve already touched on architecture, and so much more.”

Okay, so it wasn’t the huge crowd-pleaser that Hiro’s microbots were, but it seemed like those who  _ were _ watching definitely saw how amazing his project was. That was good - very good. He stepped off the stage to huge hugs from his sister.

“Oh, Varian! You were amazing up there!” Honey Lemon’s hug wound up sweeping him up off the floor, and he gave a loose chuckle as the group crowded around him. 

“That’s a pretty rad project, little guy.” Wasabi’s hand came down to ruffle his hair as Honey Lemon was lifting him up. 

“Hey, so what you mentioned about your hair not being dye.” Oh, boy. He’d been hanging around the group to know where Fred was going to take this. “If it comes from some big science experiment gone wrong, does that mean -”

“Fred, this teal streak has been in my hair for years. If I was going to get superpowers from it I think I would have by now.”

“Oh, Varian, I’m so proud of you!”

“H-Honey Lemon, you’re suffocating me.” He managed to wheeze out as his sister’s show of affection turned into a death grip in a matter of seconds. He squirmed a little in his attempts to get loose, until he was finally released. 

“Oh! Sorry.” She giggled and set him back down by Hiro. 

“Well, your sister has every right to be proud.” The group turned as the new voice entered the conversation. Varian was absolutely starstruck seeing the man that was walking up to them. “Between you and Mr. Hamada, it seems my school can look forward to two young geniuses joining its ranks.” He was holding out…. 

A letter. 

Varian couldn’t control the involuntary, incoherent screeching that happened when he took the letter.  _ The _ doctor Robert Callaghan was giving  _ him _ a letter of acceptance to SFIT.  _ Personally _ ! Honey Lemon had to take the letter and shake professor Callaghan’s hand for him because he was just that starstruck. 

“You know, even I managed to get out a coherent ‘thank you’,” Hiro sarcastically whispered into his ear, and he felt like stepping on the other teen’s toes then and there. He let it slide though since at least it wasn’t said loud enough to publicly humiliate him. 

“I uh… Um… Thank you!” He managed to sputter out, significantly flustered. Hiro chuckling in his ear and Honey Lemon’s giddy bouncing and hugs definitely weren’t helping matters. How was he supposed to process this situation? 

“Well, it’s only right that such a clever mind is rewarded.” Aaah, this was the best. Day. Ever. Absolutely had to be. Getting praised by one of the foremost scientists in the industry, getting into SFIT alongside who was probably going to be his new best friend. Just. Everything seemed to be going  _ right _ . “Though, I do wonder why you decided to come to an American school instead of one back in your home country.”

“Ah, I’ll spare you the sob story of the poor German orphan boy - not remotely interesting.”

“Well, congratulations all the same.” The sincere smile made Varian kind of shy away, growing more anxious as hands were placed on both his and Hiro’s shoulders - almost as if pushing them together. “I think you two will breathe a fresh intellectual curiosity into the scientific community.”

He turned and left after that, leaving Varian rather shell shocked. 

“Wow….”

“You think that was amazing?” Hiro responded, “Try Professor Callaghan arguing with Alastor Krei over whether or not I should sell my Microbots to Krei Tech - ”

“YOU GOT AN OFFER FROM KREI TECH!?” Okay, maybe he screeched that a little louder than he needed to, but still. It was the only way he could think of to express his feelings. “Wow… I think my mind would have shut down completely….”

“You mean more than it already did?”

“Oh shut up!” He playfully elbowed Hiro, who just cackled at how flustered he was getting. 

“Alright, geniuses, let’s celebrate and feed those hungry brains!” Hiro’s aunt urged the group forward. They walked their way out of the building, and Varian felt himself being lifted up by another of Honey Lemon’s big hugs.    


“I’m so proud of you!”

“Th-Thanks Honey Lemon, but seriously. Watch the bear hugs.”

“Give him a few years of school and maybe he’ll lose the accent - ” Gogo quipped, ruffling his hair (considerably rougher than Wasabi did earlier). “Welcome to the gang, Pinstripe.”

“Is my accent a problem?”

“I don’t really think she thinks so.” Tadashi added to the conversation with a chuckle. “Just if she doesn’t find a way to throw a sassy jab in there somewhere, it’s not really Gogo.”

“I kind of like your accent,” Hiro whispered, “It’s kind of quirky, but… Very you, I guess.”

And by god, now Varian wanted to do everything he could to ensure he DIDN’T lose his accent. Maybe he should call Eugene more so he could keep talking in German often enough to keep from losing it. Eugene probably wouldn’t mind, right? Rapunzel definitely wouldn’t - he should call her, too. 

“Hey Aunt Cass, we’ll catch up, okay?” Tadashi bobbed his head between himself and Hiro. Of course, it led to their aunt giving them big hugs and he heard a soft laugh coming from Honey Lemon behind him. 

“We’ll catch up too. Save some sweets for us! We both have huge sweet tooths.” 

“Okay but you two better eat the actual food too - !” He heard Hiro’s aunt call as Honey Lemon pulled him gently by the wrist to a place they could talk. 

“You know,” she responded, affectionately wrapping her arms around him. “I think mom and dad are going to be really proud, too.”

“I… I know.” His eyes turned downward anxiously. He didn’t like talking about “their” parents. 

“Aren’t you excited to give them the big news?”

“I’m still… not used to it.” He admitted. “I mean, I never had a mom, in the first place, and … Well, you know.”

“What about your family in Germany? Excited to give them the big news?”

“Of course!” He gave a shaky laugh at his sudden enthusiasm. “Just… Not a lot of my family really…  _ gets _ my interest in science. My cousin is super supportive even though any of my science rants go over his head. My aunt and uncles… Well, they try to be supportive but don’t even  _ try _ to listen half the time.”

“I see… That must be hard to deal with.”

“Yeah… Most of my family are either athletes or artists, so… Not many intellectuals in the bunch, really.” He gave a shaky laugh. “I… I’m sorry, I have a hard time considering your parents mine too. I know they adopted me, and I am really grateful to them but...”

“Hey, it’s fine.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer as an affectionate gesture. “Take your time. Mom and dad are patient, but they do want you to feel like a part of the family.”

“I’m… getting there,” He responded with a chuckle. “I’ve always wanted an older sibling, actually. So… Getting used to you being my sister was pretty easy. Parents… That’s harder.”

“You really loved your dad, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” he responded. “Dad… He didn’t always get my science stuff, either. After the explosion in my lab that uh… left me with this.” He thumbed through the teal streak in his hair. “He got super protective. Still, he did his best not to be any kind of helicopter parent or anything. Though sometimes… sometimes he could be a bit  _ gruff _ about trying to keep me from getting too curious and getting into trouble.”

“You really are a little raccoon - ”

“Okay, enough of that.”

“Well.” After a small, affectionate bout of hair ruffling, elbowing, and pushing and pulling, Honey Lemon pulled out her phone. “I’ll send mom and dad a message. Let them know we’re going to be a bit late getting home. You want to be the one to give them the big news?”

“Yeah… I think I will.”

“Okay then! I’ll just tell them we’ll tell them how it went when we get home.”

As Honey Lemon was fiddling with her phone, Varian glanced among the crowd. As he did so, the faint sound of alarms came to his ears, and he felt his heart sinking into his stomach. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tadashi and Hiro racing towards the direction of the school and followed suit. 

“Varian!?”

“I’ll be right back, Honey Lemon!”

The school was in flames. People were racing out. All of a sudden, it felt like what should have been the best day of his life was reeling out of control. He saw Hiro and Tadashi in the crowd, headed toward the building - 

Then his whole world went up in flames for the second time in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone who's been consistently commenting on my story. keeperofhounds especially has given me some great ideas that I've decided to roll with a few times, but seriously. Thanks. We're getting into the meet of the movie now, so it's a matter of deciding where I should and shouldn't change things. Part of the reason I left off on the section I did was because I honestly don't know how to handle the explosion and Tadashi and everything yet. 
> 
> So don't count your chickens before they hatch guys, he MIGHT be okay yet. He isn't going to come out unscathed, as what happens with him heavily drives the movie plot forward, and so he's going to be out of commission for at LEAST most of the movie - but he might NOT be gone. We'll see. Depends on how much I want to tug at y'alls heartstrings c:<
> 
> Still, I wanted to get in some fun, heartwarming fluff before the sh-- hit the fan. So. I hope you guys enjoyed this!


	9. Support Systems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the accident at SFIT, Honey Lemon finds herself in a difficult place. Still, she wants to do her best to support Hiro. With Varian there to support her along the way - the situation changes into something neither of teh two siblings could have expected.

She couldn’t take it for long. 

The incessant beeping of the machines. The smell of disinfectant. The bustling back and forth of the doctors. The sight of him, lying helplessly on a bed. It was torture, for her. If the chances of survival were so low, why keep him hooked up to those things in the first place? She felt her breath hitch as she left the hospital, only able to sit and watch him for a moment after her usual “talks” with him about the previous weeks. 

Everyone getting ready for school. Hoping he’ll be awake again soon. Everything just seemed to rush by, and how strange it felt to have their numbers dwindle. How in the weeks leading up to the expo the group of seven - their usual group of five plus Hiro and Varian - had come to feel so natural. Now, though, two of those spaces were empty. 

Tadashi, immobile and near lifeless in his hospital bed, with the talks of taking him off the machines keeping him alive moving forward.    
  
Hiro, shut up in his room and refusing to talk to anyone, even his aunt Cass. 

It was moments like this they all realized just how strong a glue for the group Tadashi was. They all tried to move on, but it was difficult, and as she walked back into the still of her home she felt the weight crushing her even more. She had intended to head straight to her room, but stopped as a soft light and voice caught her attention. 

“Hey, uh. I know we already sent you a message, but I wanted to. I wanted to give you something a little more personal.” It was Varian. She peered into his bedroom just enough to see what was going on. He was talking into a camera, Ruddiger curled up in a little ball on his lap. “I’m not really sure what to say, but uh. I want you to know you have someone who understands you. I’m still… working through a lot of things myself and…. No.”

He cut the camera off and slumped over at his desk. She watched his blue eyes contort and twist. A lot of the emotion was hard to read, but she definitely knew part of it. He’d only just lost his father to an accident… and now this.

“Varian?” She walked in, as if she’d just come in because of the light. “It’s a little late for you to be up, isn’t it?”

“I’m a college student, I can stay up however late I want.” The playful sass was earnest enough, but his voice was flat. “I just...”

“Personal message for Hiro?” His eyes averted from hers a bit sheepishly. She smiled and wrapped an arm around him. The silence between them was comfortable, golden even, as they both took in each other’s company. 

“It just keeps reverting back to me, though.” He sighed. “It’s no help.”  
  
“Sure it is.” She gave him a playful peck on the forehead, mussing up his hair a little in the process. “You’re the person here who best understands what he’s going through. You need to let him know there’s someone he can talk to.”

“How was the hospital?” That one innocent question caused her to freeze up. She didn’t like picturing it. Didn’t like thinking about it. She’d managed to work her way through it - registering for a new year of classes, helping Varian prepare for his. Spending time with her friends, spending time  _ not _ thinking about him. “Hold on just a second.”

He gave her a big hug, and she was confused for a moment as he darted out of the room. He came back with two mugs: a teal one with a bunch of raccoon stickers that he’d claimed, and a pink one with bunny and star stickers that she’d claimed. On top of that, he had packs of hot cocoa and peppermint candies with him. He tossed some milk into an electric kettle he kept in his room, and held out a mug for her. “Cocoa?”

“Aw, Varian.” She took the cup, smiling as he poured the hot milk and cocoa into her cup. “Are you sure you don’t want to focus on your message for Hiro?”

“Yeah, helping him is important.” Varian responded. Despite saying that, he picked Ruddiger up from where he was curled up and sat him on her lap as he motioned for her to sit down. “But he’s not the only one who could be losing someone important.” Varian’s genuine smile left her speechless. He’d been going through so much himself with the memories of his dad - and now he was being supportive of not one, but two people? He was amazing. 

“Thank you so much.” She pulled him into a huge hug. The pair sipped their cocoa together. Varian leaned against her, as if reassuring her that if she needed anyone, he was there. She smiled. “At the very least, I have you. My friends. Hiro is...”

“Hey, I know. Trust me.” She giggled as he dug out one of the sticker sheets she’d given him, that he kept in a drawer, and stuck a little star on her cheek. “I intend to finish that recording for Hiro. Right now, though, I just want to make sure you’re okay. Want to do the usual?”

“I’ll get some snacks. I think we both could use it.” She hopped up off the bed. Varian followed suit. They each went downstairs, but she went to the kitchen and he went to the entertainment center in the living room. 

“I’ll find a couple good movies. It’ll be fun.”

She was feeling better almost instantly as she grabbed the berry-flavored ice cream the two of them loved from the freezer. A pair of spoons and some chips and other snacks, and she had everything they needed.. She and Varian were both pretty big stress-eaters. Hopefully, this would help them relax and sort through their thoughts on a lot of things. 

Or, it would have if it had happened that night. As they’d come back into the room, they each got a call. Baymax?  
  
“Hiro!” They both shot up. Neither of them commented on how they’d spoken at the same time - that had become fairly commonplace for them at this point. Instead, they packed up their things, called up the others, and got going. She hoped, with everything she had, that perhaps the holes that had been punctured in their group were starting to repair themselves.

Luckily, Wasabi had a car. Because when they got to Hiro’s place it turned out he wasn’t there. So, they had to track him down. They piled in, and set off. She should have known it would be more difficult than that. Hiro was stubborn — that was one thing Tadashi would always complain about (and a problem he had himself). There was no way they’d managed to coerce him out of his den so easily. There was something else going on. 

They managed to track the boy down pretty easily, and it was weird. It seemed like he was out on a nighttime walk, but Baymax wasn’t his usual cuddly self. Whatever he was “wearing”, it was probably something Hiro made. The boy seemed to be jumpy, as if he suspected someone was following him. She thought it might be them he was jumpy of, but that didn’t seem to be the case. 

He was going out in odd directions. A barely populated part of town. An old warehouse. The docks. They followed behind him closely. All the time, she was stammering out things like “we should just call out to him”, or “it feels weird. Doesn’t this feel weird?”. Either way, they were all curious about what he was up to, but neither of them liked the idea of sneaking around. So, eventually, as they came up to the docks and saw Hiro crouched behind some sort of crates, they decided to make their presence known.    
  
“Hiro?” She wasn’t at all surprised to hear the others calling him behind her as well. They all huddled around the confused boy. Hiro tried to convince them to leave. Waving them off and glancing over his shoulder like a paranoid animal.    
  
“Man, what are you doing out here?” Wasabi called as the group moved to, hopefully, pull Hiro into the car with them and head home. 

“N-Nothing!” There was an anxious catch in Hiro’s voice, the way it cracked and squeaked as he tried to explain himself. “Just… Out for a walk.” And wasn’t that the go-to excuse? She remembered catching Varian sneaking downstairs, hoping to get into a lab at school after-hours, or even just trying to go over to Hiro’s house .Yeah, he always used that excuse. 

“What’s with Baymax and the carbon-fiber underpants?” Varian let out a bark-like laugh at Go-go’s comment. Honey Lemon giggled and pulled him close when the others’ eyes were all on him. He, seemingly flustered, lightly nibbled at his lower lip with his two long front-teeth poking out slightly. 

They didn’t comment on the ‘I also know karate’ line from Baymax. Instead focused on Hiro’s absolute insistence to shoo them away from whatever it was he was doing. 

“Hiro, please don’t just push us away.” She responded quickly. She didn’t know what he was up to, but still. This was the best chance they’d have to be able to properly talk to him. Ever since the accident, he’d been completely hole. d up. “This is why Baymax contacted us.”

“Those who have suffered a loss require support from friends. And loved ones.” Without realizing it, her eyes had darted down to her little brother at that line. Saw the nibbling wasn’t holding in laughter now, as Varian’s eyes darted over to Hiro as if questioning his thoughts. She nudged him forward. 

“Hiro.” She smiled reassuringly as Varian walked up to the boy. “I-um. I wanted to let you know...” Varian was searching for words. She knew he was struggling to record a personal message for Hiro, but his attempts died as Hiro kept pushing them toward the car. 

“Look, you. You have to get out of here.” Hiro’s eyes met Varian, and Honey Lemon could swear there was a silent apology there. Like, though he was pushing them out, it wasn’t that he wanted to. Or at least, there was more to it than that. 

“Holy mother of Megazon!” Fred’s shout caused everyone’s eyes to turn. And did they catch on something they definitely weren’t expecting. “Caught off guard” didn’t properly explain how Honey Lemon felt about it, anyway.

A man - or at least they had the build of a man - in all black, and a mask. He loomed over them. She couldn’t see the look on his face - but the panic on Hiro’s was easy to spot. When one of the metal crates they’d been behind was thrown their way by — wait, were those Hiro’s microbots!?

She didn’t have time to process any of these realizations or thoughts, though. Naturally, when a metal crate is hurtling toward you, your first thought was  _ run.  _ They clambered into the car as Baymax held up the crate so they could get away - Go-Go pulling Hiro along as the stubborn boy tried to insist he and Baymax could handle it  _ on their own _ ! There was no way that was happening. 

As soon as they were in the car, despite Hiro’s protests, Wasabi didn’t hesitate to floor it. Well, no. She was wrong about that. This was Wasabi, after all. There was no way he was going to go beyond the speed limit. 

“Hiro, explanation! Now!” Oh, Go-go was angry. Well, that was an almost constant, but  _ wow.  _ She was angry.

“I-I don’t know!” Hiro Stammered. “He stole my microbots. He started the fire. I just don’t know who he is.”

As they tried frantically to escape, she felt Varian turning in her lap to look out the back window. As Fred was excitedly talking about being under attack, Varian excitedly moved from looking out the back window to poking his head  _ out the door _ to get a better look. 

“Varian get back in here!” She quickly pulled her baby brother back into her lap, buckling them both in to keep him from doing anything like that. The curious boy kept trying to lean out the window or lean across Hiro to get a look at what was going on, and she was not going to have him get in any sort of trouble.

“Come on, Baymax and I can handle him - !” Of course, as soon as Hiro was saying that he was sent tumbling out of the car as the mysterious man used the microbots to pull the back door off its hinge. Luckily, Varian grabbed hold of him just in time and pulled him back in as Baymax buckled him up. “Th-thanks.”

“No problem.”

Go-go had wrestled the wheel away from Wasabi at this point. Honestly, it felt more like they were on a rollercoaster than in a car. All the bumps, jumps, sharp turns. She managed to keep them away, but the more the microbots bore down on them, the more they all panicked. They’d just barely broken free and were all feeling relieved - but then the car went plummeting into the ocean.

Luckily, it seemed Baymax could also be used as a flotation device when he tore away his armor. 

“Your injuries require my attention, and your body temperatures are low.”

Varian seemed to be completely disregarding that statement, though. As she wrapped her arms around him, allowing him to cuddle in, he seemed almost manic. “That was  _ awesome _ !” he’d shouted, “Like a chase scene from Adventures of Flynnigan Rider!” Oh, boy. Did he ever not talk about that book series? As endearing as it was. 

“We need to get out of here.” Hiro interjected. 

“I know a place.”

They were all slightly confused when Freddie, of all people, seemed dead serious. He led them away from the docks, and they were all confused when they soon realized they were in the richer side of town. They exchanged furtive glances as Fred led them past bigger and fancier houses than any of them was used to seeing outside of photographs. Their confusion was only magnified when he took them along one long, stone fence toward one of the biggest houses in the lot. 

“Where are you going!?” Hiro called out as Fred turned to walk up the huge stairs and up to the massive door of what Honey Lemon could only describe as a huge mansion. 

“Ooooh.” Fred seemed to realize last second that they had no idea where they were. He turned on his heel, with a wide gesturing motion toward the front door of the mansion. “Welcome to  _ mi casa _ ! That’s french for front door.”

“It’s really… Not.” Varian was only slightly behind her - as if they were speaking in round. Of course, any protests the whole of the group could think up were silenced. 

The moment that the house’s butler came out and greeted  _ Fred _ , of all people. 

“And here I thought he lived under a bridge - ” Gogo responded as they followed, awestruck, through the halls of Fred’s  _ Mansion _ . Honestly, Freddy had a  _ mansion _ . Whether it was technically his parents’ or not. 

When they found his way into what could  _ only _ be Freddy’s room, they were all dumbstruck. They knew he was comic book obsessed but well - apparently that trait combined with money led to keeping a comic book  _ hoard _ . 

“You know,” Wasabi mentioned, “If a man in a kabuki mask hadn’t just tried to kill us, I think this would be the weirdest thing I’ve seen all day.” Well, he definitely wasn’t wrong about that.   
  
Honey looked at her little brother - who looked something of a drowned rat when he was soaking wet, even compared to the rest of them. Honestly, it was probably a good thing Ruddiger wasn’t with them - he probably wouldn’t have been too happy about the impromptu bath. 

Before she could whisper that little joke into Varian’s ear, though, she watched him as he tailed Hiro across the room to a low table. His natural curiosity, as always, couldn’t be stopped. As Baymax draped himself across Hiro to warm him, Varian lifted up the marshmallowy robot’s arm. He climbed over it to lean over Hiro’s shoulder, as everyone else surrounded Baymax to warm up. 

“Does this symbol mean anything to you guys?”

Hiro waved the paper with the symbol he took the time to draw, and they all looked it over. Each of them were equally confused, and while she was surprised when Freddy said “Yes!”, the surprise vanished the moment he said “It’s a bird!”. 

“Look.” Hiro moved from his spot beneath the warmth of Baymax to give everyone a better view of the paper. “The man in the mask was carrying something with this symbol on it. Whatever it is, it could be important.”

“Apprehending the man in the mask will improve Hiro’s emotional state.”

“Apprehend him!?” Baymax’s statement caused a similar thought to go through everyone but Go-go, but she was the one who voiced it. They assumed it was just best to let her talk for them. “We don’t know anything about him, much less who he is!”

“I have a theory.” Oh, Freddy sounded confident. Which meant whatever his theory was - it was probably wrong. And of course, he had to rattle off on a bunch of different comic book villains and their alter egos. When Go-go urged him forward, however, he brought up a picture of Krei from a news feed. “Alistair Krei. Rules don’t apply to millionaires, and he wanted your microbots.”

“There’s no way.” Hiro was quick to dismiss it. “He’s too high profile.”

“But then who’s the man behind the mask?” She responded. All of them racked their brains, but honestly, there was no knowing who he was. “We don’t know anything about him.”

“His blood type is AB negative.” They all turned to face Baymax as he suddenly started listing off facts. “His cholesterol level is - ”

“Baymax, you scanned him!? Yes!” Hiro let out a laugh and his voice cracked in a way that reminded Honey Lemon of Varian when he got excited. “I can use the data from your scan to find him!”

“Uh, no offense, Hiro.” Varian responded with a shaky chuckle, “But, uh. You’d have to scan everyone in San Fransokyo. And that would take… er… a  _ while _ .”

“I just need to look for a new angle, that’s all.” Hiro glanced frantically around the room, as if anything could give him an idea. To everyone’s surprise - “Of course!” - it did. “I just need to upgrade his scanner. We’ll scan the whole city at once. In fact….”

Hiro’s eyes scanned the shelves. And as he was looking at the figures and comic books that lined the walls, he looked back at all of them. It was a look that reminded Honey Lemon of Varian whenever he got particularly excited about an experiment. He looked dead serious, but there was a spark in his eyes.    
  
“I’m going to need to upgrade all of you.”

“Oooh! I like where this is going.” Freddy was practically vibrating with excitement. 

“We can’t go against that guy!” Wasabi, this time - and she felt she needed to agree with that. This whole situation felt crazy. “We’re nerds!”

“We really do want to help, Hiro.” She responded. “But we’re just… Us.”

“No. You can be way more.”

And honestly, something about that spurred them all on. Freddy, and to a lesser extent Varian, already seemed excited at the prospect. Yet, with Hiro there to spur them on, and their own connection to Tadashi, they all knew one thing: They were doing this. 

“Tadashi was our best friend.” Go-go placed a hand on Hiro’s shoulder as they all turned to face each other. They hadn’t known Hiro for long - but they were friends. And they all wanted to make sure whoever it was that caused his death was put away. “We’re in.”

“Oooh, I can’t believe this!” Freddy was shouting excitedly. Honestly, she was surprised he wasn’t bouncing off the walls at this point, given his history. “Our origin story begins!”

“We’re gonna be superheroes!” Varian squeaked out just as excitedly. It was kind of adorable - but honestly a little scary how similar he and Freddy were in the “hero worship” aspect of things. Though, well, at least Varian was more mature about it.

They were doing this - and as she locked eyes with Varian, she was more determined than ever. She knew Varian would do anything if it meant helping Hiro - his first friend he’d been able to make on his own, without the help of an older party. And well, what kind of big sister would she be if she didn’t support him in kind? 

Heroes it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof, this one took a while to get out! Sorry about that. I had a hard time going into the chase scene and such. I only have this story half-planned and the rest is really playing it by ear. Still, I hope you guys like this chapter! Sorry again it took so long, but where getting into the real meat of the movie now. I'm really excited, but nervous, to go into the superhero business. But well, we're going to go into it whether I want to or not so full steam ahead!

**Author's Note:**

> So, this idea just popped into my head at random. I've been really invested in both the Tangled and Big Hero 6 fandoms recently, and so I guess it was only natural that I come to this conclusion eventually. Or maybe it isn't, who knows. Either way, I wanted to get the idea out of my head so I could focus on the major works I'm working on right now. I love this concept, though, and depending on how this little drabble is received, I might consider turning it into a collection of drabbles centered around the concept. I hope you like it!


End file.
